Are you an inquisitive soul?

Poke around the common FAQ’s we address

HOW IS AVOCADO OIL DIFFERENT FOR YOUR SKIN THAN OLIVE OIL?

Avocado oil is only pressed from the pulp, not the seed or the skin, which makes it a thicker oil with less viscosity. It will basically feel less “oily” and more creamy. The avocado oil will penetrate your skin which allows for more effective absorption than other oils

WHY IS AVOCADO OIL GREAT FOR YOUR SKIN?

It softens, moisturizes, increases elasticity and does not leave greasy residue. It is also a carrier for other valuable nutrients.

Because of the multiple properties of this oil: emollient, penetration, stability, lubricity, skin softening and moisturizing, other possibly harmful ingredients have been eliminated from our formulations.

You can also use it on your hair to add shine, silkiness and soften your scalp.

IS IT BABYS SAFE?

It is baby and child safe and has less harmful ingredients than your well known baby products. As always, proceed with caution. Baby’s skin is very sensitive at different stages in their growth and development. No matter what product you are using, test a small amount before use.

DOES IT HAVE PETROLEUM?

Yes. We use beeswax that we get from our grove. Our beeswax is completely unrefined, unfiltered and unbleached. Much like our Avocado Oil!

WHAT ELSE IS IN THE LIP BALM?

DOES YOUR SOAPS CONTAIN CHEMICALS?

No. We don’t use any chemicals in any of our products.

DOES THE SOAP HAVE ANY COLORING?

Nope! Avocado oil is rich in chlorophyll so the green color of our soap is natural. The only bars that change to a chocolate color are the Three Wise Men and Vanilla Dream due to their essential oils. Oxidation will change the color of a soap bar from green to white over time.

HOW MUCH AVOCADO OIL DOES A BAR OF SOAP CONTAIN?

All bars contain 100% avocado oil.

IS YOUR OIL REALLY GREEN?

Yes. We do not use any food coloring or alter the color in any way. The green in the oil is only found in unrefined and cold-pressed oils. When you refine or press an oil at high temperatures, you strip the oil of nutrients as well as color.

IS THE AVOCADO OIL PRODUCED IN A FACILITY THAT PRODUCES NUTS OR POULTRY?

No. We only press avocado oil and olive oil. No poultry. No nuts of any kind. No chemicals are allowed in our facility. This is easily regulated because the facility is located right on our family grove. Nothing else is produced on our grove so there is no cross contamination.

HOW DOES AVOCADO OIL COMPARE TO OLIVE OIL?

As far as taste goes avocado oil is milder and nuttier in flavor than olive oil. Depending on your taste buds, you can often pick up an avocado flavor or a smooth and creamy/buttery flavor. Each season yields different flavor notes in the avocado oil. It has a higher smoke point, at 480 °F, than olive oil, 350 °F. Perfect for grilling, stir fry’s or deep fry’s. Overall, avocado oil is a great complement to olive oil, both are great oils.

DO AVOCADOS HAVE TO BE RIPE BEFORE PRESSING?

Yes! Since our Avocado oil is cold-pressed, we have to wait for the avocados to be ripe before we can press.

WHERE IS BELLA VADO AVOCADO OIL PRODUCED?

Bella Vado Avocado Oil is produced on our family grove in Valley Center California. We’re located in San Diego County, approximately 15 mins north of Escondido and 15 minutes south of Temecula. We grow 40 acres of our own Avocados, which are then pressed, stored and bottled here on the grove. Everything from concept to finish product is done from our controlled facility on our grove. This ensures the most perfect bottle of Avocado oil, with no room for adulterations, straight from our hands to yours.

HOW DO YOU RIPEN THEM?

We naturally ripen our avocados. Allow us to explain what we mean by “naturally” – we do not use any chemicals or ripening rooms to speed up or slow down the process. Summer heat will ripen them during the days. We do not gas or put them in a ripening room or other alternative. We literally have to wait till they are ready. This allows us to press daily during the peak of our season.

WHY IS AVOCADO OIL GOOD FOR YOUR SKIN?

Avocado oil naturally contains Coq10 in the profile breakdown of the fruit. It also naturally contains vitamin A, D, E and K. All of those vitamins are perfect food for your skin. Applying it to your skin allows your skin to feed itself and helps to naturally boost collagen levels.

DOES THE AVOCADO LOTION HAVE PRESERVATIVES?

Yes. We use preservatives in our lotions. However, we only use natural preservatives – this will be evident in our ingredients. Feel free to compare our list to other brands you’ve used in the past. The preservatives protect the lotion from creating bacteria over time. This in turn protects your skin.

IS IT SAFE TO USE ON MY FACE?

Everyone’s skin is different and we always suggest testing a small patch of lotion on your neck area to make sure you don’t have any sensitivity to any of the ingredients present in our lotion. That being said, we don’t use any chemicals in our lotions and they’re generally face, body and child safe.

DOES IT CONTAIN SUNSCREEN?

No. We do not use sunscreen in our products. We strive for natural products. That being said, avocado oil does contain high amounts of melanin, which is known to reduce sun damage. It also offers a 5-15 spf protection. This is lessened depending on how much oil is used. Our 100% avocado skin serum would stay true to this spf protection rating. Our lip balms have other ingredients so it would be less. Always test a small amount on your skin first.

HOW IS THE LIP BALM MADE?

All of our lip balms are handmade. We use a low heat to melt the beeswax and cocoa butter. We use more of our avocado oil than any other ingredient in our lip balms. Our lip balms naturally dry at room temperature when filled. They are then capped, labeled, and distributed!

HOW CAN I EXTEND THE LIFE OF MY SOAP?

We suggest four different things to extend the life of your soap.

Cut your soap in thirds. The bar is soft and will be easy to cut before use. Only keep the third that you’re using in the shower.

Keep your bar soap out of sitting water or in the direct stream of the shower head. Constant exposure to water will quickly melt away your soap and make it gooey.

Reposition your bar soap after each use. If the long side is sitting face down switch it to a standing position with the shorter side face down. This will allow your bar to properly dry between each use.

Use a pronged dish. They are easy to wash and have holes in the bottom to allow airflow through the bar soap.

DO YOU BAKE YOUR AVOCADO SOAP?

No! We do not bake any of our Avocado Soap bars, we allow them to harden naturally over time, which allow the nutrients from the Avocado Oil to sustain in each bar of soap. Each bar of soap take approximately 2-3 weeks from start to finish.

DOES THE SOAP USE EXTRA VIRGIN AVOCADO OIL?

Yes! The same oil used for cooking is also used in our skin products. Because avocado oil is emollient, penetrating, stable, lubricating, skin softening and moisturizing, these properties warrants use of higher amounts of avocado oil in all our products. We will not compromise on this.

DO YOU ADD ANY COLOR OR PRESERVATIVES TO YOUR OIL?

No. Absolutely not. Our oil is pressed and bottled with no alterations. No need for preservatives due to its raw, stable nature and no need to alter its color because it already comes out a gorgeous green color.

SHOULD I REFRIGERATE AVOCADO OIL?

No. Even though our avocado oil is a raw oil, it does not need to be refrigerated. Avocado oil (in an oil form) is very stable when kept at consistent temperatures and kept out of direct sunlight. We suggest a dark cupboard for perfect storing conditions.

WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN VIRGIN AND EXTRA VIRGIN?

We do not press our pulp more than once and only use quality fruit to help keep FFA’s low. This categorizes Bella Vado avocado oil as Extra Virgin.

HOW DO YOU USE AVOCADO OIL?

Bella Vado Avocado Oil is used in a variety of ways. It is very similar to Olive Oil in its stability, yet more mild in flavor. Perfect for high heat cooking up to 480 degrees F, drizzle over salads and paired with your favorite balsamic, finishing your food, dipping bread, desserts and skin applications. Avocado oil can be used in a variety of ways, add it to your food as you would your favorite Olive oil. The lemon or lime flavors are great on fish or salad. Garlic is perfect for grilling chicken or steaks. Bella Vado Avocado oil can be used for popping popcorn and finishing the popcorn. Add some sea salt for a very addicting snack.

WHY IS AVOCADO OIL GOOD FOR YOU?

The fat profile is 70% to 74% mono-unsaturated fat, 10% to 14% polyunsaturated fat and 10% to 14% saturated fat. This profile is very similar to olive oil. However, avocado oil is thicker or more viscous, than olive oil, so a small amount goes a long way. Avocado oil also has higher amounts of vitamin-E and beta Sito sterol, the compound responsible for lowering bad cholesterol. Lutein in avocado oil, is also known to help the macular region of the eye, which is considerably higher than olive oil.

HOW IS AVOCADO OIL GOOD FOR YOU HAIR?

Your hair loses a lot of oil from blow drying, straightening and curling. It can also lose oil during the shampooing process or even through your diet or the water you drink. Using avocado oil as a treatment to your hair provides an intense oil treatment to add oils back in.

HOW DO I USE THE AVOCADO LOTION?

Our Avocado Oil body lotion is commonly used after a shower once you’ve dried your skin. Your pores are still open and exposed, which will allow the natural oils from the lotion to absorb more deeply into your skin. You can also apply small dollops of the lotion under your eyes at night as a night cream. Please apply only unscented lotion around your eyes.

HOW MUCH AVOCADO OIL IS IN YOUR BODY LOTION?

Our body lotions contain more avocado oil than any other ingredient. We use a ton of our unrefined, unfiltered, cold pressed avocado oil.

DOES IT HEAL YOUR LIPS?

Everyone’s lips are different and the circumstances of dry lips are different. That being said, we’ve received a ton of reviews from our customers over the years about how well our avocado lip balm actually heals your lips instead of leaving them waxy. We believe its all due to the healing powers of the food grade avocado oil. We use very little beeswax and the amount we use is directly produced on our grove. We also couple the avocado oil and beeswax with additional food grade ingredients which help the absorption process. It leaves the lip balm creamy and your lips creamy too!

HOW IS YOUR SOAP MADE?

Our avocado oil soap is made from our unrefined, cold-pressed, raw avocado oil. We only use food grade avocado oil in all our products. We use a process that soaponifies the avocado oil. The soap sits in a large mold and the avocado oil begins to react and heat up. After a few days the soap is ready to be cut. We cut and weigh each bar by hand and allow it to sit for an additional three weeks. At the end of the three weeks most of the soap’s excess moisture will have evaporated from the bars. Now it’s ready for use! 🙂

DOES THE SOAP BAR GO FAST?

Our bar soap is delicate and 100% avocado oil. No palm oil. No coconut oil. Due to its delicate nature the avocado bar soap can become gooey around the third use. This is because moisture is being trapped in the bar and melting the soaponified avocado oil between each shower use. Our avocado soaps are very moisturizing. A truly moisturizing bar of soap does not last as long as most soap bars found in the market that are made mostly of coconut and palm oils and/or with glycerin removed and sometimes have SLS added. The trade off is a moist and soft skin with no need for lotion after a shower. Glycerin, a humectant (helps hold water), is retained in our soap.

HOW MANY AVOCADOS DOES IT TAKE TO MAKE A BAR SOAP?

Approximately 5 avocados are used to produce a bar of soap.

DOES THE SOAP USE ESSENTIAL OILS AND FRAGRANCE OILS?

Our soaps use essential oils. Essential oils are better on your skin because they are extracted directly from their plants. Fragrance oils are synthetic, man made, and sometimes cause allergic reactions.

HOW LONG WILL IT LAST AFTER OPENED?

We suggest using the avocado oil 4-6 months after opening for the freshest flavor profile. However, avocado oil can be good all the way up to its best by date depending on the storage conditions.

HOW MANY AVOCADOS DOES IT TAKE TO FILL AN 8.5 oz BOTTLE?

In Southern California’s peak season (June/July) we approximately get 10-15 avocados per bottle. Early in the season it will take twice as many Avocados to fill that same bottle (8.5oz) of Avocado Oil. This is because early season avocados have much more water content and are much smaller than they are later in the season. Thus they yield less oil.

HOW IS THE AVOCADO OIL EXTRACTED?

Bella Vado believes that the best extraction process is cold-pressed, first press, using only the heart of the avocado – the pulp. Pits and skins are removed and repurposed for agricultural uses. We press below temperatures of 95 degrees F to be considered Cold-Pressed. No refining, no chemicals, no natural refining is every done to our oil.

WHEN DO YOU PRESS AVOCADO OIL?

Bella Vado only uses hand-grown California Avocados so our pressing season matches up with our picking season. In general, our pressing season can start as early as March and run as late as November. Each season is different and is reliant on the readiness of the avocados.

HOW STABLE IS AVOCADO OIL?

Avocado oil is very stable and will rarely go rancid. The reason why avocado oil has a stable shelf life is partly due to poly- unsaturated fats. Poly-unsaturated fats tend to form greater amounts of free radicals, which are associated with rancidity. Avocado oil has high amounts of mono-unsaturated fats and very low amounts of poly-unsaturated fats. This property of avocado oil makes it highly stable oil with no need for preservatives.

Don't see your question answered here? Get in touch with us and we will add it!